Car dumper



Jan. 7, 1941. A, F, CASE 2,227,572

CAR BUMPER Filed Nov. 17, 1957 :s Sheets-Sheet 1 l I E INVENTOR.

BY 42mm? If Cass j/MW M i Jan. 7, 1941. i 5 A I 2,227,572

, CAR BUMPER Filed Nov. 17, 1937 S Sheets-Sheet 2 .INVENTOR.

Her/we 09.55

Jan. 7, 1941.

A. F. CASE CAR BUMPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 17', 1957 INVENTOR. Haw/w? F CnaE ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 7, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Wellman Engineering Company, Cleveland,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 17, 1937, Serial No. 175,104

6 Claims.

This invention relates to car dumpers, and is susceptible of especial utility when applied to car dumpers of the lifting type.

The lifting type of car dumper comprises a main frame, which is usually located on a dock or pier in position to be used in the loading of cargoes, such as coal or other bulk material, into vessels lying along side the dock or pier. Of course car dumpers of this type may be used for purposes other than the loading of vessels, as for example, they may be employed in the dumping of bulk material into a storage bin or hopper and, of course, when so employed the main frame work. will be located adjacent such storage bin or hopper.

The main frame work of the lifting type of car dumper supports and surrounds a cradle upon which the car to be dumped can be clamped. The cradle is arranged to be first hoisted vertically to the desired dumping point and then to be rotated about a horizontal axis extending longitudinally of the cradle so that the material in the car clamped on the cradle will be discharged from the car over one of the side edges thereof.

The point where the vertical hoist of the eradle terminates and its dumping rotation commences may be adjusted to suit different conditions, while the rotation of the cradle is accomplished by the engagement of pivot pins carried by the cradle with suitable hooks arranged on an adjustable girder movably supported and guided by the main frame work. This adjustable girder may be moved by various means, a common one of which is, for example, two vertical screws rotatably carried in the main frame work adjacent each end of the girder and cooperating with threaded members carried by the girder, the screws being driven by suitable gearing or other means. A pan or bin into which the contents of the car are discharged by the dumping operation is attached to the adjustable girder by suitable hinges and extends outwardly of the main frame Work and over the boat or storage bin that is to receive the dumped material. In most car dumpers of the lifting type the vertical adjustability of the pan girder has a range of about twenty to twenty-five feet.

It has been customary to locate the operators cab, in which are arranged the controls for the cradle, pan girder, etc. in a fixed position on the main framework of the car dumper and ordinarilythis position has been at the highest point to which the pan girder is adjusted, since the operator should have a clear vision of the cradle in its dumping operation and of the material that has been discharged into the pan or chute. However, since the pan girder must frequently be adjusted to positions considerably below its highest position, and in some cases to its lowest position, it will be appreciated that when the oper- 5 ators cab is located in a fixed position, as referred to above, the operator will not have an advantageous position from which to obtain a clear view of the pan girder, cradle, pan and chute in many of the different adjusted positions of the 10 pan girder.

An object of the present invention is to provide in a car dumper an operators cab that is so mounted and located that the operator will at all times have a clear and unobstructed view of 15 the cradle, pan girder, pan and chute irrespective of the adjusted position of the pan girder.

The present invention contemplates the accomplishment of the foregoing objective by mounting the support for the operators cab on d the vertically adjustable pan girder, wherefore variations in the location of the pan girder within its limits of travel will not affect the relative position of the operator of the cab with respect to the cradle in the dumping position and to the pan girder and pan.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a car dumper a mounting for the adjustable pan girder such that it travels on the front of the main columns of the framework of the dumper at the dumping side thereof, wherefore said girder can be extended past said main columns with one of the extended portions of the girder forming a rigid support for the operators cab outside of the main column of the framework and in such position that the cab can be extended toward the longitudinal center of the dumper whereby the operator may see past the inner side of the main column and have an unobstructed view of the operation of the cradle with the car 40 clamped thereon and of the pan girder and pan.

Further and additional objects and advantages not hereinbefore referred to will become apparent hereinafter during the detailed description which is to follow of two embodiments of the invention. 45 Referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating said two embodiments of the invention,

Fig. l is a side elevational View of a car dumper of the lifting type with the cradle thereof shown in its lower or car receiving position. I

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of the car dumper shown in Fig. 1, being on a larger scale and illustrating particularly the adjustable pan girder and the operators cab mounted thereon.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of one corner of the car dumper and shows one of the main columns of the framework, one end of the adjustable girder and its mounting connection with said main column and also the floor of the operators cab mounted on the pan girder with the walls of said cab shown in section.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing the portion of the car dumper shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the invention applied to a pan girder that is adjustably supported on the main framework in a manner different from the way in which the pan girder shown in Fig, 3 is supported, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 2,

respectively, but illustrating the pan girder shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the car dumper comprises a tower [0 which is usually built adjacent to the edge of a dock ll, along side of which are tied the vessels that are being loaded by the car dumper. The tower l0 supports therein a vertically moving tiltable cradle [2 which is adapted to receive a railway car IS, the cradle l2 having the usual guiding members indicated generally at 14 which are mounted for vertical movement between but slightly rearward of the front corner posts or main columns l5 of the tower, the cradle being suspended in the tower by suitable means not shown but well understood in the art. The manner in which the cradle is suspended in the dumper frame and is raised and lowered therein toward and from the dumping point as well as the manner in which the car is clamped on the cradle and the cradle turned about the adjustable pan girder are all well known in the art and since these features form no part per se of the present invention further reference thereto is unnecessary.

The front or main columns of the main framework or tower of the car dumper indicated generally at l5 comprise vertically extending I-beams [6 having their webs arranged so as to extend in a direction longitudinally of the cradle, while their inner ends are connected by suitable means to vertically extending I-beams I1 arranged at right angles to the I-beams It as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The I-beams l6 and I! are suitably interconnected and reenforced by means of angle or gusset plates and constitute the main structural elements of the front posts or columns of the dumper frame. The I-beams I! in each end of the front side of the car dumper and in the zone of the vertical adjustment movement of the pan girder later to be referred to are provided on their outer or front ends with vertically extending wear plates 53. The I-beams [6 on both sides of the front of the dumper frame have secured on their outer ends small I-beams I9 in the form of vertically extending tracks located in the zone of the'adjustment of the pan girder. Although the drawings only show'one corner of the front side of the car dumper frame, it will be understood that the other corner of the front side of the car dumper frame is of identical construction and has not been illustrated since it will be unnecessary and surplus to do so. The adjustable pan girder is indicated at and extends across the front side of the dumper frame. The pan girder 20 is mounted for movement on the outside of the main columns or posts of the car dumper frame at the front thereof in a manner now to be described.

The pan girder 29 may be said to be of box-like formation, and is formed of interconnected structural members, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, and has adjacent its opposite ends and. in line with the outer end of the I-beam l1 vertically extending housing members 2| secured to the inner side of the pan girder and formed of structural elements. The housing members 2| extend above and below the pan girder and rotatably support adjacent their opposite ends rollers 22 which bear upon and roll against the wear plates secured to the ends of the I-beams H, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The pan girder 20 is extended beyond each of the housing members 2| and beyond the main columns or posts of the car dumper frame at the front side thereof and in these extended portions are fixedly mounted nuts 23 through which extend vertically disposed screws 24, the rotation of which causes the pan girder to be adjusted upwardly or downwardly of the car dumper, it being understood that these screws are rotated by suitable operatin means well known in the art.

The extended portions of the pan girder 2|] outwardly of the screws 24 and On the inner side of the pan girder have secured thereto rearwardly projected brackets 25 formed of suitable structural elements and rigidly secured to the pan girder. Extending through the pan girder and through these brackets 25 are fixed shafts 26, which on their inner or reaward ends rotatably support flanged or grooved wheels 21 that ride upon the track formed by the small I-beams l9 and act as side thrust rollers to maintain the pan girder and its associated parts in suitable position with respect to the car dumper frame, it being noted that the rollers 21 are located in a vertical direction substantially midway between the rollers 22 that travel upon the wear plate l8 in front of the main column or post.

It will be appreciated that the cradle l2 in its dumping operation is first raised to a position where the pivot pins carried thereby will engage with the hooks carried by the pan girder 20, after which the hoisting mechanism turns the cradle about the pivotal. axis formed by the engaged pins and hooks to dump the contents of the car into the discharge pan 28 that is pivotally connected to the pan girder as is well understood in the art, a suitable spill plate 29 bridging the space between the dumping edge of the cars and the discharge pan to prevent the spilling of any material being dumped. The cradle in its vertical movement is in this instance guided by suitable angle plates 36 secured to the Web of the I-beams ll, and it will be understood that the raising and lowering and dumping movements of the cradle, and the adjustment of the pan girder may all be controlled by conventional controlling mechanism by an operator located in an operators cab.

As previously stated herein, it is usual in car dumpers of the lifting type to have the operators control cab mounted in a fixed position on the main framework of the dumper and generally adjacent to the high point of adjustment of the pan girder.

As previously stated, the adjustable pan girder of car dumpers of the lifting type usually has a range of from twenty to twenty-five feet, wherefor it will be seen that when the girder has been adjusted to a position considerably below its highest position an operator in the control cab located adjacent to said highest position of the girder is not in a good location to have a clear and unobstructed view of the car dumper, the pan girder and pan and the material as it flows down the latter. Therefore in order to overcome this disadvantage the present invention contemplates mounting the operators control cab on the pan girder itself so that the relationship of the control cab with respect to the pan girder, the discharge or dumping point of the cradle and the discharge pan will not vary, with the result that the operator at all times is in the most advantageous position for controlling the operation of the dumper.

The operators control cab is indicated at 30, and in the present instance is mounted upon the extended portion of the girder 2!] at one end thereof as clearly shown in the drawings. Inasmuch as the girder 2B is mounted outwardly of the front side of the main columns of the framework of the dumper it is possible to extend said girder beyond the main columns and the eX- tended portion of the girder at one end thereof forms an admirable support for the operators cab and one of such character that the cab can be extended toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, that is to a point where the operator will have an unobstructed View of the dumper between the main columns at the front side thereof and can clearly observe the operation of the cradle and pan girder at all times and thus efficiently control the same, irrespective of what position of adjustment the pan girder may be in.

The floor 3| of the operators cab all is mounted upon a supporting frame 32 formed of interconnected structural elements secured at the rear of the frame to the upper end of the housing member 2i, while the outer or right hand end of the frame, as viewed in Fig. 3, is secured to a vertically arranged channel 33 that extends downwardly alongside of the front and at the end of the girder 20 and is secured to said girder by suitable means, as will be well understood. A diagonal angle brace member 34 is connected to the outer corner of the frame 32 by suitable connecting means such as the plate 35 and extends diagonally downwardly and inwardly and has its lower end connected to the pan girder by suitable means, such as rivets, welding or the like.

It will be seen that a secure supporting frame is provided for the floor 3! of the operators c ab 3t! and one which is carried by the p an girder so as to move therewith which, as has been stated, enables the operator at all times to be in the most advantageous position for the eiiicient operation of the dumper irrespective of what position the plan girder is adjusted.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. to 7 inclusive the pan girder 36 has its opposite ends guided in the more conventional manner by spaced vertically extending angle bars 37 forming inwardly facing channels on the adjacent sides of the main columns 38 of the 'dumper frame at the front side of the dumper. The pan girder 36 is adjusted vertically by means of rotatable adjusting screws 39 passing therethrough and engaging nuts carried thereby in the well known manner, and said girder has pivotal'ly connected thereto the usual discharge pan ill while a spill plate 4i bridges the interval between the discharge pan and the dumping edge of the car on the cradle. The construction so far described with respect to Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive is conventional and need not be explained in greater detail.

The opposite ends of the pan girder, that is the portions which constitute the guides for the girder and through which the screws 39 extend are elongated vertically as shown in Fig. 6, and at one end of the girder there is secured thereto a vertically extending channel 42 which lies to the inner side of the main column 38 in line with the screw 39 and has its base or bottom substantially in the plane of the front face of the column. This channel 32 extends downwardly from the upper end of the vertically elongated portion of the adjustable girder 3t and has connected to it adjacent its upper end an outwardly extending channel d3 forming a part of the supporting platform for the operators control cab. Inwardly of the vertically elongated portion of the adjustable girder 36 there is secured to said girder a vertically extending member 44! that has secured to its upper end an outwardly and horizontally extending channel 55 arranged in the same horizontal plane with the channel 43. The channels 43 and 45 support and have secured thereto interconnected horizontally extending structural elements 46 which with the channels and with the brace members 4'! constitute the supporting platform for the floor 48 of the operators control cab 49, which supporting platform is carried by and movable with the pan girder, wherefore the operator will always be in the same relative position with respect to the girder and the cradle during its dumlping or discharging movement, thus insuring eflicient operation of the car dumper irrespective of what position of adjustment the pan girder may be in.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim I. In a car dumper, a main framework, a tiltable cradle arranged for vertical movement therein, a pan girder, and means for mounting said pan girder for vertical adjustment on the outside faces of each of the front main columns of the framework .and including rollers carried by said girder :and engaging said outside faces of each of said front main columns.

2. In a car dumper, a main framework, a tiltable cradle arranged for vertical movement therein, a pan girder, and means for motmting said pan girder for vertical adjustment on the outside faces of "the front main columns of the framework and including rollers carried by said girder and engaging said outside faces of said columns, and side thrust rollers also carried by said girder and engaging the side faces of said columns.

3. In. a car dumper, a main framework including front main columns having on their sides vertically extending tracks, a tiltabl'e cradle arranged for vertical movement of said framework, a pan girder, and means for mounting said pan girder for vertical adjustment on the outside faces of the said front m ain columns of the framework and including rollers carried by said girder and engaging said outside faces of said columns, and side thrust rollers also carried by said girder and engaging said tracks on the sides of said columns.

4. In :a car dumper, a main framework, a tiltable cradle arranged for vertical movement therein, a pan girder, means for mounting said pan girder for vertical adjustment outwardly of the front faces of the front main columns of the framework and including rollers carried by said girder and engaging said front faces of said columns, and an operators cab mounted on said girder and movable therewith outwardly of the front face of one of said columns.

5. In a car dumper, a main framework, a tiltl0 girder so as to move vertically therewith outwardly of the front face of one of said columns.

6. In a car dum'per, a main framework including Iront main colunms having on their adjacent faces guiding channels, a tiltable cradle arranged for vertical movement in said framework, a p an girder mounted for vertical adjustment and having its opposite ends located in said channels, an operators control cab, and means carried loy said. pan girder for supporting said control cab in a position outwardly of the front face of one of said front m'ain columns of the framework.

ARTHUR F. CASE. 

